


We Could be Immortals (But not for long, for long)

by Dragongrl04



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Basically everyone needs hugs all the time, Dad Coulson, Fitz Needs a Hug, Gen, Grant Ward is a bastard, Martial Arts, Melinda May needs a Hug, No beta we die like Tripp, Protective Melinda May, Sad agent origin story, Season 1 & 2 AU, Skye is not the only inhuman, Skye | Daisy Johnson Needs a Hug, Superhero origin maybe, Taekwondo terrorists, Ward's betrayal, mama may, mentions of Bahrain, my oc needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:53:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29019270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongrl04/pseuds/Dragongrl04
Summary: After an attack with alien weaponry cost her her parents, a teenage girl meets the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This changes everything.
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Melinda May & OC, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, OC & Jemma Simmons, OC & Leo Fitz, OC & Skye/Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson/Melinda May
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. I'll be the watcher (of the eternal flame)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into AoS fanfic, and my second ever published work. Hope you enjoy!  
> Title inspired by Fall Out Boy's 'Immortals'.  
> I own nothing, sadly.

This was a nightmare.

The team had gotten wind of an 0-8-4 in the middle of Wales; an Asgardian weapon which had gotten into the hands of a group of insane Korean nationalists. Apparently, they'd been protesting for years against the rapid spread of Taekwondo schools worldwide, arguing that the martial art should have stayed in the military, Korea's secret weapon.

When May heard this, she snorted derisively. "It's a bit late for that. Idiots. Taekwondo's one of the most popular martial arts in the world."

"Since when have insane terrorists listened to logic?" Skye countered. She typed furiously on her laptop, then grinned. "They're not great at covering their tracks, either. Why on Earth would you plan an attack on Discord?"

"What's Discord?" Fitzsimmons and Ward asked simultaneously, before looking at each other, startled. The hacker sighed, shaking her head. 

"Hopeless, the lot of you. That doesn't matter. What does is that we know where the attack is due. May, I'll send you the coordinates now."

"Hopefully we can get there before the attack even happens," Coulson said. "Do we know how many hostiles?"

Skye frowned. "Sorry, AC. They didn't give numbers."

"Okay. May, Ward?" They both nodded. "We're not sure what the weapon does. I'll need you both with me on this."

"Of course." Ward replied. May was silent, but it was clear she was in as well.

Skye caught her breath. "Uh, AC?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's a training course. For assistant Taekwondo instructors."

"Makes sense. There'll be teachers and students there. Stop the teachers and the students who'd replace them."

"The minimum age is 14. The majority of the people there are kids." Coulson's brow furrowed in worry.

"Let's just hope we get there in time."

May was already in the cockpit.


	2. I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass (glass)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It felt like the end of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here's another chapter! *throws confetti* *hides*  
> I own nothing but my OC.  
> Enjoy!

Spoiler alert: they didn't.

When they arrived, the terrorists were gone, leaving only smoke and the echoes of stolen screams in the air where there had once been life.

The building had been razed to the ground, and bodies were everywhere.

Even the indomitable May had to fight back a rush of nausea at the sickening sight of a young boy lying on the ground, unnaturally still and pale, white dobok (training uniform) stained red.

"Check for survivors." Coulson ordered, already crouching down to check for an older, white-haired man's pulse. They worked in silence for a long time, finding no sign of life.

May found her; a slender girl with blonde hair flecked with ash, behind a couple who could only have been her parents, glasses lying discarded on the floor. The pulse was weak and erratic, but it was there.

"Simmons!" she called, and the team's unofficial medic rushed over.

The girl was trapped under a burnt piece of timber, which May removed, and her left shoulder was soaked in blood from a bullet wound.

"Take off her belt," Simmons ordered. "I need to cut through her top." May carefully but efficiently unravelled the long black belt, tucking it under her arm. As a martial artist herself, she knew how much time and effort it took to earn a black belt, and was sure the girl would want it back.

Simmons worked quickly, but there seemed to be little improvement in the girl's demeanour.

"We need to get her to the medbay," the doctor ordered. "She needs oxygen, and probably a transfusion."

May lifted her up, feeling a strange surge of protectiveness, despite not knowing the girl. She was obviously loved by the couple; by the way things looked they were protecting her when they fell. This kid had lost everything, and she didn't even know it.

Simmons was called to see to another victim, a dark-haired older woman in instructor uniform, so it was up to May to install the oxygen mask and hunt down some O-Negative to give her. Thankfully, she remembered her training in field medicine and was able to do it without a hitch.

She stood up, about to leave, but her eyes caught on the girl's face and stayed there. She didn't deserve this, any of it. It was awfully reminiscent of when Skye was shot, only at least Skye was surrounded by people who loved her. This young girl had nobody.

She wouldn't let her wake up alone, in a strange place, with her parents gone. No, May would stay with her.


	3. I try to picture me without you (But I can't)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May's thoughts on the sleeping girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll today! I want you to meet my character; she's not letting me stop writing!  
> Still own nothing but my OC.
> 
> **EDIT**   
> I realised today that I hadn't clarified Lucy's age in the fic. She's 17- I've added some dialogue to include that. I'm a Brit, so from my point of view she's a year away from being an adult.  
> Sorry!

She'd been there for hours.

Simmons had come in after the other survivor (singular; only two people in a room of over thirty- the loss of life was horrendous) had been stabilised- she said the woman had a concussion, but she'd be fine. 

The girl- according to her Taekwondo license booklet, her name was Lucy- had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the next twelve hours. So far, it had been four, and things were actually looking good. 

May couldn't understand exactly why she felt so protective of this girl.

Maybe it was the phantom sight of her parents' bodies, so clearly shielding her, the fact that they'd given their lives for hers.

Maybe it was the excitement in the eyes of the picture in the license booklet, the life in her youthful face.

Maybe it was the belt she'd lain across her lap, which symbolised the perseverance and dedication she had to the martial art she'd nearly been killed for.

Maybe it was all of those things, or none of them.

No matter what it was, something inside her told her that this girl _mattered_ , and that she needed to live.

Coulson appeared quietly in the doorway, smiling at her sadly. 

"How's she doing?" he asked, keeping his voice soft.

"She's fighting." She answered shortly.

"We'll find them. They won't get away with this."

She nodded, unsmiling, feeling anger rage through her, locking it down.

"You should eat. It's been a long day."

"I'm not leaving. She shouldn't wake up alone."

Coulson nodded and left, returning some time later with a grilled cheese sandwich, which she accepted gratefully.

"You know, we should call her family. Skye looked into her. She has grandparents who could look after her. And a dog, apparently."

"How old is she?" She looked younger sleeping, but she had to be in her late teens, at least.

"Seventeen last April." Phil's eyes were sad. He knew what it was to lose a parent young.

May cursed internally, although she'd seen it coming. Not even an adult, and already an orphan. The world was so unfair.

"Where does she live?"

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"They didn't have any clothes packed. They weren't meant to be away overnight. We should pick up the dog. Maybe some clothes, too."

Coulson nodded, smiling fondly at her.

"Do you want me to stay with her while you-"

"Ward can do it."

"Okay."

He left, and she continued her silent vigil.


	4. They might be your wounds, but (They're my sutures)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy wakes up. Interesting conversations take place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm loving writing this fic, and thank you soo much to the people who've taken the time to read it so far. However, I would be ECSTATIC if any of you wonderful people were to leave me kudos and/or comments? Pleeaassee?? *puppy dog eyes*  
> Only Lucy is mine.  
> Enjoy!

May was asleep in the chair when Lucy woke, all flailing limbs and gasping breaths and whatisthisonmyfacewhereamiwherearemyparentsi'mscared-

Her training as an agent allowed her to wake almost instantly, going from sleep to total awareness with almost nothing in between, and she carefully and efficiently held the terrified girl's arms down at the wrists as she calmed. The girl looked at her, damp blue eyes clouded with pain and confusion, and her fear made May's heart clench painfully.

"Lucy?" she asked calmly. Lucy tried again to remove the oxygen mask, but May wouldn't let her. "Just nod or shake your head, okay?"

She nodded.

"Do you remember what happened?"

She started to shake her head, paused... Then nodded, her face crumpling.

"Mum... Dad..." she rasped, tears rolling down her pale cheeks.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I really am." she couldn't disguise the guilt in her voice. They should have stopped this! There was a reason why they were called S.H.I.E.L.D, after all. Lucy was exactly the sort of person they were meant to protect.

"Who're you?" Her voice was slurred by the mask and the pain meds, but just about comprehensible.

"My name is Agent May," May told her, "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. We deal with alien threats, mostly, like the weapons used in the attack."

"We're going after the people who killed your parents, Lucy. We'll find them." Coulson chimed in from the doorway. "I'm Agent Coulson, by the way."

Lucy finally managed to remove the mask and replied, "Hi. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but..."

Coulson chuckled softly. "Yeah. I get it."

"How bad is it?" she asked, gesturing down at herself.

"Doctor Simmons says you're stable now, but you were pretty banged up. Your side has some nasty burns and you were shot in the shoulder. You lost a lot of blood."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I think I remember that. The guy who did it was aiming for my head, but I managed to kick the gun. Not enough to stop it, but it redirected the bullet at least."

May nodded approvingly. "Quick reflexes. That's good."

She shrugged, then winced as the movement pained her. "I was just trying to stay alive."

"It's the same with most fights." The specialist told her. Lucy ran her hand through her short hair, distracted.

"What happens now?"

"We're not far from your house, so we're going to pick up some clothes and your dog. He's cute- what's his name?" Coulson replied.

"Pippin," she replied with a tiny smile, which vanished as she asked her next question. "Who else made it?"

There was silence for a moment as the two agents exchanged loaded looks. Finally, May answered.

"A woman named Jane Peters."

Lucy took that in, nodding. "She's my Taekwondo instructor. Is she okay?"

"Concussed, but she'll be fine."

"Nobody else?" Her voice was small.

May shook her head. Lucy looked away, fighting the urge to cry again.

"There were a lot of good people there. I've known most of them for years."

She looked them both in the eye, determined. "How can I help stop them? Do you need me to be a witness, or something?"

"You don't have to do anything." Coulson said, trying to reassure her.

"I do. I can't go back to a normal life after this. Not without knowing that this won't happen to anyone else. I couldn't live with myself!"

"So you don't want revenge?" May asked, quietly intrigued by this teenager and her strength of conviction.

"Why would I? I mean- me being angry is fine, and I am, but what's the point of that anger if I don't use it to do something good?" She shook her head. "No. When I started learning Taekwondo I took an oath to only use my knowledge of the Art in defence of myself or the weak. I'm not about to hurt people unnecessarily now, even murderers like them."

"So what do you want to do?"

She sighed, immense sadness in her face, but there was a fire in her eyes.

"I couldn't protect my parents, the two people I love most in the world. I want to learn to protect people. I want to learn to fight- properly, not just patterns and light contact sparring. I want to know that the next time someone I care about is in danger, I can stop them getting hurt."

"I'll teach you." May found herself saying. Phil looked at her in shock.

"Really?" She hadn't meant to say it, but when Lucy's face lit up with hope and the first real smile she'd seen from her emerged, May knew she couldn't take it back.

"I don't say things I don't mean. Really."

"Thank you."


	5. I'm still comparing your past (To my future)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bus kids meet Lucy. Instant friendships are formed.  
> Fitzsimmons set things on fire. So, you know, the usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pippin on the Bus! Lucy's gonna be an agent... *grins*  
> Thank you so so much, everyone who's taken the time to read so far. Please kudos and comment! xx  
> As usual, only Lucy and Pippin are mine.
> 
> ****EDIT**** 
> 
> I now have a Tumblr!!! It's @dragongrl04 if anyone's interested :)

Pippin was straight-up the most adorable dog May had ever seen. Small and black and white and fluffy, with a tail which wagged a hundred miles a minute at the sight of new people come to visit him. 

Ward, amusingly, fell to pieces when confronted with this, and immediately started cooing at it and stroking it while May and Coulson looked on, trying to suppress their laughter at the big, tough-guy specialist completely incapacitated by a cute dog.

Lucy was obviously still on bed rest, so May was tasked with collecting some of her clothes and other essentials. 

Her bedroom was big, and full of photo frames, art supplies, jewellery and other knick-knacks. She put some of the most practical and comfortable clothes in a bag, as well as a nice dress and a few pairs of shoes. She was surprised by the number of dragons in there- they adorned every surface in various forms- and she made sure to retrieve Lucy's phone, a few well-thumbed fantasy novels, and her laptop, which was connected to a high-end graphics tablet. She assumed that the dragon-themed hand-drawn artwork was hers, too, and there was even a hoodie with a design which matched her distinctive style.

Interesting. A bookworm artist who did Taekwondo. Usually the sporty types weren't intellectual as well, but Lucy seemed smart. Good grades, with books on her shelf in French as well as English.

Languages were a good skill for an agent.

"May, a word?" Coulson asked discreetly, gently pulling her aside.

"What is it, Phil?" she feigned ignorance, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Why did you say you'd train her?"

Honestly, she didn't really know. "I- She's lost so much. Look at the pictures- she and her parents were obviously close. She needed a reason to keep going."

Coulson nodded, understanding. "You thought it might break her."

"No." That wasn't it. The opposite, in fact.

"Then what?"

She hesitated, trying to find the words. "Do you remember what you told me about Skye? After you told her she was an 0-8-4 and about what happened in the Hunan province?"

He frowned, remembering. "It was something which could have destroyed her faith in humanity-"

"-But she ended up restoring a little piece of yours."

"You thought this might be her Bahrain."

"But it wasn't. She pushed through and immediately wanted to move forward, to stop it from repeating. I wouldn't have responded like that. I don't think I know anyone who would. It's... surprising."

Coulson nodded thoughtfully. "She is resilient. And she already has some martial arts training." He watched her face closely. "Do you think she'd make a good agent?"

"I think she's a fighter, and very loyal. She wants to protect. That's what S.H.I.E.L.D's all about."

"I trust your judgement. And honestly, I like her. I think she'd fit in with the team."

May smirked. "Fitzsimmons were saying we needed a mascot," she remarked drily, gesturing to the dog.

Coulson laughed. "I'll talk to Fury. I'm pretty sure he won't object, not with you vouching for her."

May nodded and walked away.

* * *

**On the Bus...**

It was the first time Simmons had come into the Medbay while Lucy was awake, and, Simmons being Simmons, she had already made it awkward.

"Hi! I'm Dr Jemma Simmons. It's really nice to meet you!" She backtracked quickly, stammering, "N-not that I think what happened to you was _nice_ or anything, I mean-"

Lucy huffed a quiet laugh, ignoring the pain in her ribs as she did so. "Don't worry, I get it. It's nice to meet you too, Dr Simmons."

"Oh, call me Jemma," she waved off cheerily. "Or Simmons, people call me both."

"Going by your surname, cool." Lucy complimented, hoping to put her more at ease.

"It's because of my partner, Leo Fitz. He _hates_ his first name, and when people started calling us Fitzsimmons I got stuck with it."

"Cute couple name," Lucy grinned.

"Oh no, no. We're not _together._ He's my best friend! We studied together at the Academy and kept working together, that's all." Simmons denied, getting flustered all over again.

Lucy shook her head, unconvinced but willing to let it go. She liked Simmons- she seemed sweet.

"If you say so. I'm guessing Agent Coulson told you my name?"

"I did, actually." Skye said, appearing in the doorway. "Hi."

She raised her eyebrows, smiling. "And am I allowed to know your name, or is that classified?"

"I'm Skye." Lucy picked up on the lack of a last name, but didn't mention it.

"Good to meet you."

Skye turned to Simmons. "Fitz needs you in the lab. Some problem with the Night-Night gun, he said."

"We are _not_ calling it that!" Simmons grumbled, flashing the girl in the bed a bright smile before she left. Lucy waved back.

"So, how are you feeling? When I dropped in yesterday you looked pretty rough." Skye asked sympathetically.

She shrugged with her good shoulder. "Eh, I'm okay. Think Simmons has got me high enough on pain drugs that I can't feel a thing. Better than being in a coma."

She paused a moment. "How's Master Peters?"

"The woman with dark hair?" 

"Yeah."

"She's okay. Nasty concussion, pretty shaken up, but she'll be fine. Isn't she your Taekwondo instructor?"

"How do you know that?" Lucy asked, surprised and a little unnerved.

Skye wiggled her fingers like a magician, eyes filled with mischief. "The internet knows everything, Lucy. There was a picture up on Facebook from when you got your black belt a few years back." Her face softened. "I'm sorry about your parents. They seemed like decent folks."

"Do you have any leads on the attackers' whereabouts?" Lucy asked, not willing to breach the subject of her grief just yet. 

"Not yet. I'm still looking, though."

"Thanks for coming by. I hate hospital beds." Skye groaned melodramatically.

"Ugh, I know! I've only been out of here a few weeks myself. Jemma's one of my best friends, but 'Dr. Simmons' can be a nightmare."

"What happened? Am I allowed to know?" The other girl's expression darkened.

"I was shot. Twice, in the stomach."

"Fun!" Lucy replied sarcastically, breaking the tension slightly.

"Yeah, quite."

"Hey, Skye..."

"What's up?"

"What's Agent May like? Have you ever trained with her?" Skye thought for a moment.

"Well, Ward's my S.O, so he's responsible for training me. May's... A bit of a mystery, to be honest. Something happened, a few years back, and she left the field for Administration."

"Ugh, paperwork." Lucy mock-shuddered, and Skye laughed.

"Not my choice of career either. Anyway, she came back into the field because Coulson asked her to, and she flies the Bus. She can be stern and a little scary- lots of stern looks- and she seems like a total robot most of the time, but I swear she once played the 'shaving cream under pillow' prank on Fitz."

"You're kidding."

Skye shook her head. "No, AC- Coulson- said apparently she used to prank him all the time at the Academy."

"Did you go to the Academy? Simmons mentioned it earlier."

"Nah, I'm a stray. I'm a hacker- S.H.I.E.L.D found me after I hacked into one of their servers. I was working for the Rising Tide at the time, living in a van."

"A 'Hacktivist', then?" Skye nodded, somewhat proudly.

"That's why Coulson took me on. I'm training to be a field agent now."

"Have you seen Agent May in the field?"

"Yup," she replied, popping the 'p'. "She's a total badass."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that she can take out a whole room of armed mercenaries single-handedly, without breaking a sweat, and without a gun."

"You're serious?" Lucy asked, a little awestruck.

"There's a reason why they call her 'the Cavalry'," Fitz said in his broad Scottish accent, slightly out of breath at the door.

"Don't call her that." Skye snapped.

"Sorry, Skye." he apologised sheepishly.

"S'fine, but you know May hates it." she replied, giving him a smile.

"Hi, I'm Fitz, by the way," The frazzled Scot said, noticing Lucy in the bed, before turning to his teammate. "Skye, do you know where the fire extinguisher is?"

"There's one in the hanger," She replied with a fondly exasperated eye roll. "What did you set fire to this time?"

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault Simmons didn't set the distilling pipes up properly! She's the biochemist!" Fitz defended, rushing off.

The two girls watched him leave, equally amused looks on their faces.

"May's gonna kill them if they damaged the Bus."

"I thought Coulson was the boss?"

"Well yeah, but have you met those two? Coulson's like the cool dad, where May's like the 'no phone, 7:30 curfew' kind of mom. She even has the 'mom face' down. She'd be the one to tell them off, for sure."

Lucy had to stifle her giggles at that. "All right," she admitted, "I can imagine that. Coulson'd be the kind of person where he's 'disappointed', which is much worse than him being angry."

"Uh-huh, although May's the 'silent anger' type, and you never know when the lecture'll come."

"My mum was like that. She'd be disappointed too, though. It was better with Dad- he'd shout for a bit, then it'd usually be over." Lucy's smile faded a little.

"Hey," Skye said brightly, trying to distract her. "Why'd you want to know about May, anyway?"

"She said she'd train me to fight,"

"Don't you already have a black belt?"

"Fighting's different from martial arts. I know a lot of techniques, and about 15 different patterns; I can do floorwork, and score points in sparring, but I don't know a lot about translating it into a real combat situation. That's what she said she'll show me."

"She must like you, then. May wouldn't waste her time otherwise."

Lucy nodded. "I won't let her down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I can't end chapters... *cringes*


End file.
